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The Transportation Industry
If one thing is important in this world, it is transportation. Several men knew that before the world did. Transportation connects the world, bringing people together. As the Industrial Revolution powered, on people were given new modes of transportation to travel by, creating industries. Early Start Cornelius Vanderbilt had meager beginnigns, growing up in Staten Island, New York. As a young man, he started a ferry business across New York Harbor. He gained a reputation as a cutthroat business man. The Commodore As he got older, he grew his business into an empire. His business stared as sailboats, but as steamboats grew in popularity, he made the switch. His shipping business grew into a multi-million dollar empire, making him the richest man in the country's history up until that point. His wealth power and influence earned him the title Commodore Vanderbilt. Rowing to Rails As the completion of the transcontinental railroad neared. Vanderbilt realized the future of the transportation and shipping industry was in rail. He sold all of his ships and invested everything in railroads. The fortune he amassed raised his net worth to 78 million dollars. He was one of the richest men up until that time in history. He was the man who pioneered big business and laid the ground for more men to build America up. He was the first of a new breed of leader. Why the Railroad? The railroad utilized the steam engine to move wheels. This video shows in detail how a steam engine works. Because coal was not difficult to obtain or expensive, creating steam was not a problem for them. Tom Scott Tom Scott was one of the men who pioneered and ruled the railroads. His company The Pennsylvania Railroad Company flourished bringing railroads and shipping to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He used his influence to undercut and control his part of the industry. A great man, he taught Andrew Carnegie everything he knew. Carnegie started his career working for the Pennsylvania Railroad company. As he taught Carnegie, he was fighting off Vanderbilt trying to control the rail road industry. His life ended sadly and he died a broken man. He died crushed due to John D. Rockefellers undercutting the railroads. A New Breed After the fall of the Monopolies, a new breed of businessman arose, a group of entrepreneurs made money, not by creating products that the world needed, but products that the common person wanted. Companies like Maybelline Makeup, Wrigley's Chewing Gum Company, Hershell's Candy Company, and the Ford Motor Company. These companies hired workers in factories but made it possible to live on a factory pay. These new bosses were concerned about helping the common man making his life easier. Not rising above them. The Automobile John D. Rockefeller is the man most responsible for the creation of the internal combustion engine. As kerosene was on the decline John Rockefeller need a new way to make money. He hired scientist after scientists to find uses for one of Kerosene’s byproducts, gasoline. The internal combustion utilized the volatile nature of gasoline to push pistons and make a motor run. The internal combustion engine became an instant hit and soon people realized its potential once you added a wheel. The automobile came soon after. When people created the automobile it was a personalized way to get to one place faster. It was one of the most effective modes of transportation ever created. And revolutionized the transportation industry. Henry Ford A young entrepreneur, Henry Ford built his model of a car, he approaches A.L.A.M. (Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers), a car monopoly holding a patent for the automobile, for the ability to start a business. A.L.A.M. denied him the chance but he started it anyway, ALAM sued Ford for patent infringement, but Ford argues that the idea of an automobile isn't patentable. He won and the Ford Motor motor company was born. The Model A Ford built his model A car, it was a light weight but sturdy car. It was also affordable; it was 900 dollars, a reasonable price for the common man in the 1900's. Unions were forming, people were being paid more, and a car was a realistic and achievable dream by the working man. That revolutionized the world. Cars eventually became the dominant form of transportation for the world. The Freedom it Brought Cars changed the world. The thought that one person could go anywhere he wanted in the world without exerting any physical effort changed things. People had no boundaries now. And due to Henry Ford every man could afford this freedom.